Food Items

Canola Oil

Canola oil, which is a form of rapeseed oil, should be considered kitniyot.

Kosher Salt

Iodized salt is often processed with corn (kitniyot) and requires Passover certification. Non-iodized salt does not require Passover certification, nor does sea salt.

Sugar Substitutes

The following sugar substitutes are available with an OU-P or OU Kosher for Passover: Gefen Nutrataste Gold Sweetener (sucralose) Gefen Sweet’N Low Although Splenda brand sucralose is found in OU-P products, it is not available for consumers. Please see the the OU Passover guide or check the OU Passover product search for a Passover approved honey, cane sugar, […]

Wine

Please note that not all OU wines are certified for Passover use. Some wines, are flavored and colored and may contain Kitniyot, and therefore are not marked for Passover use. The vast majority of OU certified wines are OU-P. Please be sure to check your wine products before purchasing.

Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages must bear certification to be used for Passover. There are numerous issues involving what the alcohol is made from, the equipment it is produced in, and the fermentation process itself. We encourage all Kosher consumers to find alcoholic beverages with reliable certification or to abstain for the eight days of Passover.

Quinoa

Quinoa, the grain-like seed grown in South America, is Kosher for Passover when processed with special OU Passover supervision and bearing the OU-P symbol. Rabbi Genack, CEO of OU Kosher, has released the following statement: “It is only recently that quinoa has become popular outside of its high-altitude growing area in the Andean mountain region of South America. Known for […]

Coffee and Tea

All unflavored ground coffees are acceptable for Passover use when bearing an OU. Decaffeinated coffee: Coffee is often decaffeinated by means of ethyl acetate, which is derived from either kitniyot or chometz. Certain brands of decaffeinated coffee are approved when appearing a regular OU symbol. Please check the OU Passover product search or consult the OU Passover guide for a complete list. […]

Sugar

White Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar: Due to the increasingly common use of Passover questionable processing aids used in the manufacture of sugar, OU Kosher  has decided to limit the brands recommended for Pesach use, to those with the OUP symbol. Rest assured, if any OU certified granulated sugar was used in a Pesach product, […]

Spices

Ground spices require Passover certification. They can be processed on equipment that contains chametz and can also be adulterated with kitniyot or chametz.

Honey

Honey requires special Passover certification, as our research shows that some companies adulterate it with corn syrup.